Models and methods for studying behavior in polyunsaturated fatty acid research

This report examines a range of models and procedures applicable to polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) research and considers their relative merits. Considerations pertaining to cost, efficiency, and scientific rigor are of particular interest. Parallel activities in other areas of behavioral neuroscience, such as behavioral pharmacology and toxicology, that have profitably exploited various behavior designs for the study of human and animal cognition are noted. Special attention is given to the utility of operant conditioning models and schedules of reinforcement, which are currently underrepresented in PUFA research. Investigations of analogs of complex human behavior as well as implications for generalizing laboratory results to clinical phenomena are addressed.